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December 09, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"New Vaccine Clause Angers Parents of Autistic"

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (12/09/02) P. A3; Warner, Susan

A provision added to the Homeland Security Act just prior to Congressional approval last month means that parents of autistic children face reduced chances of winning their cases against vaccine manufacturers in civil courts.  So far, 800 families have filed suit against Eli Lilly and other manufacturers of thimerosal, the mercury-based vaccine preservative they believe caused their children to become autistic.  Damage awards are usually much higher in civil courts, and while the federal program covers claims for medical and education expenses, it limits awards for pain, suffering and death to $250,000.  In addition, the Department of Justice has filed a request that would limit the use of vaccine information gathered during the federal trials to be used in any civil suits that may follow.  The National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development estimates that between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1,000 children are diagnosed with autism in the United States every year, and a California study reported that one-third of parents of autistic children believe that vaccines are the cause of their child's problems.  In 1986, Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to address the growing concerns about vaccine safety, which allowed claims to be filed with the Department of Health and Human Services through the U.S Court of Federal Claims, and thus far, the program has paid out 1,775 claims valued at $1.4 billion.  The new provision in the Homeland Security Bill was originally penned by Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) as part of larger legislation to help drug companies produce anthrax and smallpox vaccines post Sept. 11, to combat lower profit margins, manufacturing problems, and liability suits. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration found no correlation between autism and thimerosal; however, that same year the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service recommended that the preservative be removed from the vaccines, in part due to the concern that parents might stop having their children vaccinated, which would pose an even larger health issue.

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